Heart-Healthier Flourless Brownies

I’m so thankful today is Friday; something a little decadent always helps the weekend get off to a good start, right? Now you can have your brownies and eat them too – guilt free!

Our family has been working toward making more heart-healthy meals and desserts. I’m still learning a lot about how to cook and prep food for multiple diets (gluten free, Crohn’s disease friendly, and low cholesterol). Thankfully, the more I research and cook, the more I find ingredients and methods that work well for all of them!

This week I made lots of fresh salads with grilled chicken, tons of oatmeal for breakfast, and ended the week on a sweet note with these brownies. They’re fudgy, soft, and decadent. All the things a great brownie should be. However, they’re made completely without gluten (of even GF flour!), butter, milk and oil!

I’m a big fan of baking with applesauce as a sub for fat, and it works very well in this recipe. If you’re not an applesauce person, or think apples would taste weird with chocolate, no worries. You can’t even taste it. 🙂 I also love that the dark chocolate chips give these brownies a tiny little boost of antioxidants!

Hope you enjoy these as much as we have. Ours were snatched up and scarfed down in less than 24 hours.

Heart-Healthier Flourless Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F and grease an 8 x 8 in. baking pan. I’ve switched from butter to olive oil spray for a healthier choice! Stir together the dry ingredients, making sure there are no lumps leftover. Add the applesauce, eggs, and vanilla, and stir until smooth and creamy. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 28-30 minutes.

Allow lots of time to cool before slicing – they’re a bit sticky when warm! 🙂

Yes, they really are as chocolatey and luscious as they look!

I am looking forward to putting this recipe away in the “great-for-potlucks-family-get-togethers-and-play-dates” file. Since it’s nut, gluten, butter and milk free, it stands a good chance of suiting most dietary needs. How would you tweak this to better fit you and your family?

With the weekend being ushered in with sunshine and chocolate, I’d say we’re off to a good start. 🙂